How to Rehab a Gas Tank

Encountering a rusty gas tank during a bike build can take the wind out of your sails in a heartbeat. Well maybe not for everyone, but for beginners it’s a huge obstacle. pipeworx over at the Jockey Journal forums has posted a great thread on a gas tank rehab.

Well, I have a client that is having me build them a motorcycle and I ran into some problems on the tank today. I thought that since I was having to repair the tank that I would share a little and possibly help someone else out. First, let me apologize for the blury pics as everything was taken with my cell phone. The tank is an old banana wassel. I do not know if they repop these but even if one could be found it would need to have the tunnel modified for the frame that is being used. Here is a pic of what I started with, looks like a clean vintage tank.

Check out the thread for more information and ton more pictures.

Scotty Dont’s 1980 Honda CM400E Build

As a fan of the Honda CM400 series, I’m frustrated by the lack of builds I come across on the web. I think it’s a great bike for people who haven’t chopped a bike before, and even people that have chopped before. They are super cheap and easy to find on craigslist.

If I had to guess why the lack of support for the bikes I would have to say, it’s the lack of factory and aftermarket parts. Lack of parts usually means fabrication is needed or shelling out cash for someone else to do the work.

The cool thing is, when you do find a CM build on the web, because of the lack of parts, these people are forced to use their imagination. They are forced to come up with their own solutions and not just opening a catalog and busting out the credit card. So when I come across a build I get pretty pumped and try to follow it from start to finish.

Scotty Dont’s CM400E build over at the MassDriven forums, is one of the build I’ve been following. He took a 1980 Honda CM400E and created a nice “Cafe/Bobber Bastard Child”.

Head over to the massdriven forums to check out the build from start to finish.

Another Great Honda CM400 Chopper

Since getting the Harley I’ve pretty much given up on the idea of chopping a Honda CM400. I could give you a million excuses about why but I will save you that.

Even though I’m not doing my own, I still appreciate it when I come across someones else’s CM400 build. These builds are not something you will find a lot of on the web. Sure, you will find people saying they have done one and may even post a blurry picture of something that may be a Honda. But there is next to no information out there about customizing these bikes.

Knowing the frustrations with trying to find information and inspirations for these builds, I try to post any information I came across. Today I have a new find I want to share. This new find is hands down the best CM400 build I have seen.

This build comes from a shop in Dallas, Texas called Slaughter City Customs. I came across the build on their Myspace page. They have a bunch of pictures, starting from the stock 1990 Honda CM400T bike to the beautiful finish work.

Head over to their myspace page to check out more pictures and ask questions.

An Official H.O.G.

This post has been long overdue.

Well, you know that itch that I scratched a few months back? (no? Then update yourself homeslice: link) I don’t think I scratched it well enough because we ending up buying a 2008 Harley Davidson XL1200N Nightster. When we were looking around, I was looking for the Baby Blue/Black nightster. I soon realized I’m not quite that comfortable with my sexuality to pull it off. Instead, I went with the colors that I’ve been drooling over since first seeing the bike, Orange and Black. B-E-A-utiful! I can’t wait till we get settled in North Carolina and I can hit the roads. I’m fully the expecting the rides out there to be purrrty.

There are still a few things I need to do to fully transition into my Harley owner status. One, I need to start working on getting that leathery skin look. That means I need to rub myself down with baby oil and ride around in a wife beater. When my skin has the consistency of beef jerky I’m good to go. Second, I need to get some official jailhouse ink. I don’t want some poser ink, so I’m going to get myself arrested and sent to prison. Then I will do unpleasant things to get my Jailhouse bitch ink. Third, not really needed for Harley owners but doesn’t hurt, I will be getting a license plate with ‘PNS EXT‘. Everyone will know I’m riding a Harley to overcompensate for my tiny package.

It will be an awesome journey!

Sir Robbie Rob the “The Leathery Skin Harley Owner” is out! Peace!

Mike Alessi’s Crash at Red Bud

For those of you not in the know, I love motocross. When I started riding dirt bikes something inside me just clicked. I had finally found something that was meant for me. I expect the feeling to be similar to a basketball player discovering a basketball for the first time. Even thinking about it brings a huge smile to my face.

A little more than a year after I started riding, I tore my ACL at a local MX track. My first BIG injury and the first time I was going to have surgery. The only thing I could think about was getting back to the track. So I went with a doctor that told me I could be back riding in 3 months. Well, a couple months later I was back on the bike…for 5 minutes. I had managed to get my foot caught on a tree root and my leg was yanked back. I heard a loud pop and felt the same pain as the first tear. I was pissed and frustrated which led to some tears. Luckily, I didn’t tear the ACL again but it stretched. I went to a another doctor and this time I took the slower approach to riding again.

11 months after the initial injury, I bought another dirt bike(The old one had some bad karma…seriously). I was pumped to be riding again. Well about my third time back out to the track, I high sided and landed on my head. It really freaked me out. After all the commotion, I instantly made sure I had no pain in my leg. Then I went through making sure I could move all limbs. I’m super paranoid about neck injuries. Initially, I didn’t think twice about stop riding. I had waited an entire year to ride again and I wasn’t about to walk away. Two day later, I changed my mind. As much as I love riding dirt bikes, I’m not in the same mindset to bounce back from injuries. I’m not willing to go through another year of rehab for a hobby.

Three weeks after I bought the dirt bike I sold it. Since then I haven’t thought about riding dirt. Kind of strange, it took landing on my head to clear some things up for me.

There is a reason I bought all of this up. I saw a clip from this weekend’s AMA Motorcross Championship race and it gave me chills. It shows Mike Alessi crashing and then getting ran over by the rest of the field. It’s one of the gnarliest crashes I’ve seen. Luckily, it looks like he is in good condition with two broken shoulder blades, a few ribs, and a concussion. Yes, I said luckily. He is still breathing and walking around.

At what point would you start asking yourself, Is the risk worth the reward? Mike Alessi just returned to racing from a broken coller bone.

For me, the great feeling I had riding isn’t worth the injuries. But I don’t rely on this type of thing for income. So I can’t really answer it on that level. Maybe that’s what separates the pros from everyone else. They are willing to hang it all out and not think twice. What do you think?

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART